father followed your mother, and my mother stayed as queen of the Unseelie.” He took a jagged breath. “I look like he did. Both Courts consider me a half breed now, but the Unseelie accept me because I’m the former queen’s son. To some, that still means something.”
“A half breed? But you said they were one people once.”
“We were one people, Lila. You included.”
I let out a groan. “Whatever. Just go on.”
“The Seelie are vain, but generally kind. They cherish life, but they hold a gigantic grudge against the Unseelie. The Unseelie are more accepting, but they’re purists when it comes to protecting the sanctity of the wild lands. They hate anything that carries Seelie blood, anything that would preserve human life. I don’t know the reason for the differences in eye color, but anyone who lives primarily in Dun Bray beneath the faerie mounds has developed deep blue eyes, and the ones from the Black City have the ice blues. You and I are the only exception to that rule—and no, I don’t know why.”
My fingers wove together. “Why do I want to touch you and Parthalan so badly, like the need to breathe? It makes me sick.”
“It’s a fae thing. We touch for a lot of reasons. Comfort, to feel connected to one another, as a form of communication. We’re insatiable sexual beings, and we’re drawn to some more than others, like you and I are. It can be intoxicating and sometimes even addicting.”
“Great. Just fucking great.” I stewed over that for a minute. “Why do the insects have a fit when he’s around?”
“They only react when he’s near you, so I think it’s the Goddess’s way of warning you.”
“Does your mind feel—heavy when he’s near you?”
He looked at me in the rear view mirror. “Heavy?”
Great, so I’m the only weird one. “It’s like his presence pushes me away.”
“Hmm. Maybe it’s because he’s your polar opposite, the night to your day. The two of you can’t exist naturally with the other, but you still have a profound connection to him, two halves of a complete cycle.”
I shrugged. That actually made a lot of sense. “You told me you believe the humans need to die before the world will recover. Did you mean it? Would you really help him destroy the human race?”
“Yes. No. Hell, I don’t know. Until I met you, the answer was yes, but now …”
“Now, what?”
“Nothing. Just drop it. I can’t think.”
“Fine. It all sounds ridiculous, anyway.” There were so many questions floating around my head I didn’t know which to ask first. “Is your father still alive?”
Liam turned the radio on and cranked it up. A twangy country song boomed out.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since your mother left Dun Bray twenty years ago. Seven Gates has been impassable since then.”
“Wait, how old are you?”
“Six hundred, give or take a decade or two.”
I groaned, wishing I’d wake up and find the whole conversation a bad dream. “Why did my mother leave?”
“To hide you, I think.”
“But why?” Was she ashamed of me?
“God, I don’t know, all right? All I know is that some believe you have the potential to become the most powerful of the Sidhe. Most of us receive some form of cumhacht , power, once we come of age—yours is the Force of Will—and once a mating has been granted by the Goddess, we receive another cumhacht . The common belief is that you’ll be blessed with more gifts than the standard two, and so will your mate.”
A thought niggled me, coated my veins with frost. “What do you mean by a mating?”
He met my eyes in the mirror. “A marriage, a bonded pair.”
I coughed, numbness sweeping through me. “You used the word mating for a reason. How do two fae become a mated pair?” Don’t tell me. Please, don’t tell me.
When he did nothing but hunch closer to the steering wheel, I pounded on his seat with the heel of my hand. “You’ve got to be shitting me! It’s true isn’t it?
“A half breed? But you said they were one people once.”
“We were one people, Lila. You included.”
I let out a groan. “Whatever. Just go on.”
“The Seelie are vain, but generally kind. They cherish life, but they hold a gigantic grudge against the Unseelie. The Unseelie are more accepting, but they’re purists when it comes to protecting the sanctity of the wild lands. They hate anything that carries Seelie blood, anything that would preserve human life. I don’t know the reason for the differences in eye color, but anyone who lives primarily in Dun Bray beneath the faerie mounds has developed deep blue eyes, and the ones from the Black City have the ice blues. You and I are the only exception to that rule—and no, I don’t know why.”
My fingers wove together. “Why do I want to touch you and Parthalan so badly, like the need to breathe? It makes me sick.”
“It’s a fae thing. We touch for a lot of reasons. Comfort, to feel connected to one another, as a form of communication. We’re insatiable sexual beings, and we’re drawn to some more than others, like you and I are. It can be intoxicating and sometimes even addicting.”
“Great. Just fucking great.” I stewed over that for a minute. “Why do the insects have a fit when he’s around?”
“They only react when he’s near you, so I think it’s the Goddess’s way of warning you.”
“Does your mind feel—heavy when he’s near you?”
He looked at me in the rear view mirror. “Heavy?”
Great, so I’m the only weird one. “It’s like his presence pushes me away.”
“Hmm. Maybe it’s because he’s your polar opposite, the night to your day. The two of you can’t exist naturally with the other, but you still have a profound connection to him, two halves of a complete cycle.”
I shrugged. That actually made a lot of sense. “You told me you believe the humans need to die before the world will recover. Did you mean it? Would you really help him destroy the human race?”
“Yes. No. Hell, I don’t know. Until I met you, the answer was yes, but now …”
“Now, what?”
“Nothing. Just drop it. I can’t think.”
“Fine. It all sounds ridiculous, anyway.” There were so many questions floating around my head I didn’t know which to ask first. “Is your father still alive?”
Liam turned the radio on and cranked it up. A twangy country song boomed out.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since your mother left Dun Bray twenty years ago. Seven Gates has been impassable since then.”
“Wait, how old are you?”
“Six hundred, give or take a decade or two.”
I groaned, wishing I’d wake up and find the whole conversation a bad dream. “Why did my mother leave?”
“To hide you, I think.”
“But why?” Was she ashamed of me?
“God, I don’t know, all right? All I know is that some believe you have the potential to become the most powerful of the Sidhe. Most of us receive some form of cumhacht , power, once we come of age—yours is the Force of Will—and once a mating has been granted by the Goddess, we receive another cumhacht . The common belief is that you’ll be blessed with more gifts than the standard two, and so will your mate.”
A thought niggled me, coated my veins with frost. “What do you mean by a mating?”
He met my eyes in the mirror. “A marriage, a bonded pair.”
I coughed, numbness sweeping through me. “You used the word mating for a reason. How do two fae become a mated pair?” Don’t tell me. Please, don’t tell me.
When he did nothing but hunch closer to the steering wheel, I pounded on his seat with the heel of my hand. “You’ve got to be shitting me! It’s true isn’t it?
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